Mary is one of the girls who is/are missing.
Which is the correct verb?
Thanks.
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Mary is one of the girls who are missing.
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Agreeing with Torsten, I may add that the antecedent in this case is girls which is plural that takes only are. But the tendency of the foreign learners is to use is which would suggest that one is the antecedent, which is not correct.
Logically, Mary is not the lone girl who is missing. She is one of the many missing girls.
(Now, an American friend of mine once told me that if we placed a comma or gave a pause just after girls, the antecedent would shift from girls to one, in which case the singular verb could be accepted. I would like @Alan and @Torsten to comment on this aspect)
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